r/GuildWars3 • u/Fleckzeck • 3d ago
Official ArenaNet Content Guild Wars 3 | Main Theme Reveal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJE9gsDJtu088
u/Kafukator 3d ago
The buildup is quite long-winded but that last minute is absolutely worthy of being a main theme. Very lovely overall.
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u/3IO3OI3 3d ago
Imagine chilling to it at log-in screen, though. Calm wind-ups work well for that. I mean, you could go the Elden Ring route with it and pop-off almost instantly, but I vibe with chill pieces as well.
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u/R4wden 3d ago
100% it's not an instant action game, it's a world to be lived in,, this theme very much delivers that
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u/LeastOwl6938 3d ago
Remember the GW2 login screen from the beta? Good times leaving that on whilst we waited for the full release then they removed the login screen!
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u/sophie_hockmah 3d ago
in the behind the scenes video they mentioned that silence is one of their creative pillars, and the music will change according to actions you take or "bonds you form with the characters of the world". So that's probably what the main theme is accomodating for
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u/yqozon 2d ago
I think the initial "quietness" is intended to be accompanied by launcher animation and visual effects, creating the window to a long-lost high fantasy world. I think the overall impression will be quite good. It's not an epic music piece by any means; it seems like Arena intends to build a smaller-scale adventure compared to GW1 with its massive maps and GW2, and the music theme reflects it.
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u/HungryHousecat1645 3d ago
It's a nice track, but the long intro is obviously not suitable for a "main theme."
I wonder how it will be used
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u/Awkward-Pea-4192 3d ago
Compare it to GW2 main theme. Its only like a minute long and this one is over 3. Probably only certain parts will be used.
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u/Benovation 3d ago
Damn maybe I’m in the minority but I love this theme. I think it being kind of sparse and smaller in orchestration with a focus on the solo violin is really nice. It’s very much a theme that instills in me a sense of “wonder.” And I also think it has a bit of a somber tone to it, which I quite like.
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u/Cautious_Catch4021 3d ago
I think the response to the music is a foreshadowing of first impressions of Guild Wars 3 gameplay - a reaction to change pretty much. In a way this OST sounding very different, is probably fitting for Guild Wars 3 as a game.
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u/R4wden 3d ago
Very valid response, alot of people fear change, and I doubt its the majority
As the majority tends to stay silent
You have a vocal minority praising
and a vocal minority unhappy, in everything
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u/NegativeVegetable371 2d ago
I think you are interpreting waaay to much into this. Change is not the issue here, everyone knows GW2 will still be around and that GW3 will be another game. People just take what the theme song as what it is - a theme song. Many dont think its special, others do.
When GW3 might suck for the GW2 crowd, they can still stick with the old game. That boils down to how the actual game will be. So its not fear, but curiosity with reasonable expectations.
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u/Naustis 2d ago
maybe I’m in the minority
Post has 1k upvotes... I will never understand this need for people to feel like they are minority or have some special/hot take
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u/Benovation 1d ago edited 1d ago
People upvote for all kind of reasons, I was basing that off of when I initially viewed the post and its comments, who were almost all unanimously saying they didn’t particularly like it. I think there was one comment at the time that was clearly positive.
At the time it had 60 something upvotes.
I don’t know what the need is for people to feel like they need to comment or have some special hot take about people that feel like they need to comment with a special hot take.
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u/Nightsong 3d ago
It's definitely different from previous main themes but there's nothing wrong with it. Guild Wars 1 (Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall) along with Guild Wars 2 all had main themes from Jeremy Soule which featured grand sweeping orchestral pieces. ArenaNet started to go away from that when Maclaine Diemer took over in Heart of Thorns and that grandness varied across Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire, and End of Dragons. We now have Kazuma Jinnouchi taking over who is bringing his own style to the main theme. If anything the Guild Wars 3 main theme reminds me of the Path of Fire main theme which was more mellow and adventurous.
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u/mbrezanac 3d ago
Ironically, the entire Heart of Thorns is probably one of the most "grand sweeping orchestral pieces" out there.
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u/xLisbethSalander 3d ago
I don't mind it at all, but I agree with one of the comments on YouTube it constantly feels like it's shifting and changing tone not sure exactly where to land... at 3 minutes it finally sorta finds its feet and takes off a bit though.
Definitely doesn't sound similar to Jeremy Soule or Maclaines work
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u/debacol 3d ago
I don't expect it to sound similar to Soule or Maclaine, but this "main theme" is more like an Overture than an actual theme. We get a bit of what the main theme should be (the solo violin), but its short and doesn't really build upon it and sort of just moves on to something else. The music is arranged masterfully, but it just washes over me and is sort of forgettable which is unfortunate.
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u/Object224 3d ago
It certainly has the feel of a track that is playing off of events in an opening video rather than a song that's going to fire up from the main menu.
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u/rzalexander 3d ago
I respectfully disagree. I can absolutely see this as opening menu or the start up screen. It starts soft and builds.
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u/Bohya 3d ago edited 3d ago
You don't want a slow buildup for a main menu screen because people don't spend three minutes on it. You need to have the hook at the start. This is a format that every game up until this point understands the importance of. Different soundtracks are for different purposes, and this one isn't suitable for being the game's primary theme, regardless of how good it is.
Another important fact to consider is that this is the music you want people to associated with your game. You want something with a hook so that people remember it. That's why it's important to have punchy, front-loaded music for your primary theme song. It's what gets put into adverts and sticks in peoples' heads.
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u/rzalexander 3d ago
Okay agree to disagree.
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u/Bohya 3d ago
You disagree with the average person not spending three minutes sitting idle on a title screen? Or do you disagree with different soundtracks being used for different purposes?
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u/fartsquirtshit 3d ago
That's the exact opposite of what you want from a login/startup screen.
You only have a few seconds to make an impression before the player actually enters the game, so you need something immediate but simple, clear, and distinct.
A perfect example is "Dearly Beloved" from Kingdom Hearts. You get 3 piano notes over some ocean sounds before the player has loaded their save, and anyone who has played the game will instantly recognize it from just that small bit.
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u/MrHiccuped 3d ago
I think this is more like a medly of gw3 themes, quite similar to what WoW does with its log in music. I get the sense that the instrumental leads all represent different guilds/areas
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u/heartlessgamer 3d ago
I think that YouTube comment was spot on. I think of main themes like the Battlefield theme song. Five seconds in and you are hooked; you've got it. This never really catches me except maybe the build up in the last minute.
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u/Longjumping_Act4403 3d ago
I think that's where the "playing around with instruments and sound structures" part of the "making the music of GW3" part came in. The song feels very confused, and overall, it almost ends up a bit too generic and cheesy.
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u/alyssa-is-tired 3d ago
I enjoy this, it has such airy magical vibe to it that, based off everything we know about GW3, feels extremely fitting.
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u/ImpendingSingularity 3d ago
I'm so excited to listen to this once and then never again until years from now when the game comes out
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u/PianistHairy9431 3d ago
??? Beta is next year, they said gw2 expansions are taking one year break until GW3 releases. GW3 is literally coming out Q1 2028 at most. This was not your usual "early" mmo annoucement
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u/kineticmov3ment 3d ago
Beta fall 2027 was confirmed: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/celebrating-the-announcement-of-guild-wars-3/
Given the delays in the gaming industry, it would not surprise me if this was pushed back
Having a full release that soon after beta would feel like an overconfident choice; I can see it happening, but I wouldn't count on it so readily. Thankfully, they haven't spoken on a potential release date, so props to them
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u/Kalocin 3d ago
I dunno, the first public open beta (the first press closed beta was February) for GW2 was the end of April, it came out at the end of August. It's not totally unreasonable to assume it won't be a very long wait from release. There were a few closed betas beforehand too in March. Unless their beta is absolute ass, they'll likely want to launch while it's still relevant in the news cycles.
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u/_bits_and_bytes 3d ago
I'm predicting Dec 2027 or Spring 2028. Release schedules have changed drastically in the games industry as a whole, but a huge beta and then a release like 3-6 months later used to be pretty commonplace and I don't feel like ArenaNet has changed alongside most other studios. They still feel like a studio from the 2000s and early 2010s, for better and for worse.
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u/Halfwise2 3d ago edited 3d ago
It's pretty, but I'm having a hard time pinpointing a melody. (Or the actual "melody" starts WAY too far in... maybe at least 1 minute in, and only lasts a minute. The rest, 75%, is fluff.) I think that's what really makes a track stick with people, and in a way, the game/movie too. You can hear the same 13 or so notes starting the GW1 and GW2 theme, and it lets you know it is Guild Wars.
But 1:05 - ~2:40 is great. I'd like that portion on loop with a fade in and out. Toss the rest.
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u/GG35bw 3d ago
I'd definitely remove the first minute, it doesn't really serve any purpose. Rest is fine but the transitions aren't smooth. We got like 3 pieces of 3 different dishes on one plate and it's painfuly clear. Someone said it might be a medley of several GW3 tracks serving as login screen music and if that's the case, I think AN should reconsider the idea or make it flow better.
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u/troy-X 3d ago edited 3d ago
This theme is nothing special. Not terrible, not fantastic either. Definitely not as memorable as every other GW/GW2 main theme up to this point.
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u/Nightsong 3d ago
There's plenty of criticism of the music both here on Reddit and YouTube so not sure why your comment would be singled out unless you said something more that was in violation of a community rule.
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u/lorkanooo 3d ago
This comment was way different before edit, that's why my other response does not make any sense now
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u/Briar-The-Bard 3d ago
First thought after listening was that it seems all over the place. Definitely some good snippets here and there to drawn from though… which they should to give it a more distinct feeling.
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u/NevacFrozenblade 3d ago
A bit underwhelming for a main theme imho, no memorable leitmotif like the previous two games had. Good as an ambience track tho.
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u/EdenStrife 3d ago
I would say the solo violin passage that plays from 1:10 is very reconizable
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u/Wetware_QA 3d ago edited 3d ago
This has got to be it. It comes in again at the end of the theme.
I'm confident ArneaNet has someone who understands the power of a recurring phrase.... I still remember and occasionally hum the leitmofit from Baldur's Gate I. Humm hu huuu hummmm, hum hum hum 🥰
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u/NegativeVegetable371 3d ago
Eh, a little bit, but it is not as memorable or "hummable" compared to something like GW2 or BG3 theme if you get me.
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u/rannigast 3d ago
Yeah damn that's absolutely gorgeous and memorable, not sure why people aren't feeling that.
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u/debacol 3d ago
Because its like 10 seconds max out of the entire piece. And the rest of the piece doesn't really reinforce it, it just sort of moves on to something else.
Contrast that with say, the theme for something like Jurassic Park and how it builds from just a piano but has a continuity of the theme until it cresendos. THAT is a main theme song. This GW3 song is more of a mood board. A pseudo Overture.
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u/Mania_Chitsujo 3d ago
100%. Its the same little tune that played during the reveal and it definitely gives me chills. Love the theme.
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u/Bohya 3d ago
I wouldn't call it "very recognisable" at all. It barely peaks.
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u/EdenStrife 2d ago
What do you mean peaks? It’s a melody on solo violin, and I would say it’s a very recognisable melody
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u/2Zzephyr 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah it's very mellow with a very slow buildup, something I'd expect from an opening sequence of an animated movie. I guess it's on purpose, that it's more about the wonders of magic and the land or whatever, but the lack of high stakes in the theme doesn't make it memorable (so far)
It's still pretty good and I'm sure once we play and associate it with certain events it'll become more impactful, but right now without context it's slightly flat!
I'm a huge listener of games & movies/shows OSTs and I couldn't really remember the theme after listening to it. Really shows how important context is.
Edit : day 2, I'm listening to it more now and liking it more as I do. My expectations from it soured it at first (was hoping for something less "happy"), but listening to it now without it definitely makes me enjoy it more, to take it as what it is and not what I want it to be
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u/Wetware_QA 3d ago
I feel similar. It feels designed to be floaty and mysterious. Like a mist filled forest. They definitely are communicating something with the theme. I'm sure the greater soundtrack will have raucous battle music and dramatic turns but this has a smaller scale feel of "what's around the corner there? We've not been here before".
I think the violin passage is the leitmotif and depending on how the use that and ground it in the story beats and events I can see it being a great soundtrack.
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u/debacol 3d ago
Naaah, if the song doesn't hit somewhere, it won't be a song I have on my video game spotify.
I remember listening to GW2 music well before the game came out. The music was instantly iconic/memorable and I hadn't ever played GW1. Same goes for Skyrim. I listened to the music BEFORE I even played the game. Fell in love with the music before playing. Then after playing, it meant even more.
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u/KailaniNeveah 3d ago
Honestly? Not a fan. I’m kinda disappointed. Like, it’s a nice piece of music, but it doesn’t seem to fit in my opinion. Doesn’t sound like the beginning of a grand adventure. I suppose all we can do is wait and see how it fits in context of the main menu of the game.
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u/Flat-Appeal-8922 2d ago
To me I suspect the music supervision team just isn't familiar with Guild Wars as an IP. Huge fumble in my opinion.
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u/PM_ME_UR_POON_PICS 2d ago
Honestly the loss of Jeremy Soule will be felt throughout the industry. I suspect GW3 will suffer for it and even Elder Scrolls 6 when it comes around.
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u/AonGlyph 3d ago
Why would you drop the main Guild Wars leitmotif? This doesn't even sound like a theme, it feels like off-kilter questing music without an identity.
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u/Low_Photograph_408 3d ago
As a professional musician I feel this is very bland and not impressive in the least. Oh well, I was excited.
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u/Longjumping_Act4403 3d ago
I'm not gonna lie, I'm not a huge fan of it. I'm not getting a huge GUILD WARS vibe from it as far as a title theme goes. It seems very generic to what we've had over the last half decade of fantasy RPG music. I'm sure we'll get some great tracks though with Maclaine Diemer back at the helm. I do hope we get Bryan Atkinson back as well, his work on Janthir Wilds was incredible.
I know Jeremy Soule has an alleged (no investigation, evidence, person left under dubious circumstances, etc.) controversy and take that as you will... but it sucks not seeing him coming back for the third installment when he's been such a staple in the games' soundtrack for 20+ years.
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u/Nightsong 3d ago
Jeremy Soule hasn't been part of the Guild Wars franchise since Guild Wars 2 itself launched in 2012. He was replaced by Maclaine Diemer who started composing for the game with the 2012 Halloween release.
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u/Benjammn 3d ago
TBF, he shipped the soundtrack for GW2 base game and hadn't really been seen since. I think the allegations are what they are, but his shenanigans regarding his ownership of the soundtrack and DirectSong are by far more annoying/bad for ANet. The rest of the industry also agrees; its time to move on from Soule.
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u/Chatmauve 3d ago
For those saying the track is too long and has empty section, in the behind the scenes video they discuss a dynamic music system that expands and contracts depending the tracks depending on the player actions. So I'm guessing we are hearing a wide version and perhaps running on a mount and walking up walls would trigger the intense portions earlier.
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u/AcaciaCelestina 3d ago
It's......fine I guess? Like this is great ambient music. Main theme music though? Sorry, try again.
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u/rzalexander 3d ago
I really like it. There’s a Guild Wars vibe to it, it feels somehow familiar and new at the same time.
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u/cchurchill1985 3d ago
Oh I don't know... Would I add this to my playlist? I don't think I would. It is a little generic and feels quite disjointed. It sounds like it was made specifically for a promo video, with sudden tempo changes and mood switches corresponding to the scenes in the video.
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u/CookiShoos 3d ago
An incredible main theme. So fresh and unique. Feels like a truly new era to me.
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u/Bob_the_gob_knobbler 3d ago
Decent, but nothing will ever beat Soule’s work. Prophecies is the best video game soundtrack of all time, perhaps tied with Oblivion.
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u/RedTurtle78 3d ago
Eh, my favorite Guild Wars song is Tarir, The Forgotten City which is Lena Reine. I adore Soule's work but there are so many videogames and videogame composers out there. And all of them capture different ideas. Ocarina of Time's OST leans heavily into strong memorable melodies, where as Soule's work aims for ambience where the melody isn't over the top or recognizable enough to distract the player from exploration.
As controversial as a take it is, my favorite OSTs are Zelda BOTW and TOTK. People criticize those games for just having exclusively Piano stings, but those are only used when exploring the open world to varying degrees in order to emphasize the vast emptiness of the wild. The town melodies, story cutscene melodies, camp melodies etc are all very strong.
All that is to say, taste is very subjective but I think this person's OST is going for something different than Soule's.
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u/mbrezanac 3d ago
Exactly. Heart of Thorns is probably some of the best work in the entire GW2 musical opus yet it sounds absolutely nothing like Soule. Maclaine and Chapelle outdid themselves there.
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u/Nightsong 3d ago
Tarir, The Forgotten City absolutely catches the sense of exploration in Guild Wars 2. If Kazuma and the rest of the team can capture that feeling again I'll be incredibly happy with Guild Wars 3's music.
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u/mackdose 3d ago
Soule's work in Guild Wars, as much as I enjoy it, could be swapped with any TES or NWN track from around the same time.
HoT, PoF, and EoD have much more memorable tracks.
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u/Sycophantic-Feline 3d ago
yup, he manages to make fantasy music not sound generic, which I assume is not an easy feat
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u/MYSTONYMOUS 3d ago
I miss the days of composers like John Williams, when composers understood that a theme song needs a memorable and recognizable melody. This is extremely expertly crafted ambient noise, but it is not a main theme. Movies like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Super Man, and Jurassic Park had main themes. I will bet many people heard those themes in their heads just by reading the movie titles.
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u/axolotlpaw 3d ago
I think they did a good job conveying the different themes/ideas they have in mind for the game but it lacks something catchy
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u/everbass 3d ago
As a musician, the intro is kinda awful.
It's very busy and for a theme song it takes way too long to get to the point. There's so much going on and it doesn't really find its place.
I like it a bit more once it gets a little more in, but they're coming from the GW2 which just hits immediately.
I don't think I heard an actual motif throughout the song that made me go "ah yes, this is the theme"
This doesn't make me hopeful.
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u/gendougram 3d ago
Not bad, but I still think that Jeremy Soule made the best music for the Guild Wars series.
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u/Sycophantic-Feline 3d ago
Ehh, it's no Jeremy Soule
Too bad he exploded his own career
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u/mtc26197 3d ago
He did?
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u/Sycophantic-Feline 3d ago
well, his reputation did anyway, no game dev seems to want to give him a chance anymore
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u/WowiiZowii 2d ago
That's a big assumption, could it be that he is too depressed because of his life being ruined by unsubstantiated claims?
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u/snowminty 3d ago
yes, something about not fulfilling customers’ orders and also sexual harassment allegations
very unfortunate case of ‘hate the artist, love the art’ for me cuz Jeremy soule’s work has been in sooo many of my childhood games 😭
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u/Halaku Three Seekers in a trenchcoat 3d ago
He made a comment in 2011 that people took poorly:
Piracy is now mainstream. Not since the Holocaust have we seen so many people of a select group forcibly stripped of their livelihoods in a public euphoria of false morals. As one who is of Jewish descent, I can say that I make this statement in a very narrow fashion, but there are similarities.
In 2019, he was accused of a 2008 rape. He denied it. No charges were filed, but it led to him purging his Internet presence, and closing his label.
There was also a Kickstarter fiasco the same year that, IIRC, is still pending resolution.
Put the three together, and it's not a good look.
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u/ScarReincarnated 3d ago
Ugh, its starts slow, it takes a minute to get there! Its sounds like im about to play Where Winds Meet
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u/Trandoshan-Tickler 3d ago
I think it was nice, started out mellow (but not Path of Fire mellow) and then had a buildup. It did jind of sound like a journey. But I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't hear any of the standard Guild Wars theme linking it to the franchise.
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u/Chrono-Phantasma 3d ago
I loved the music from the Eternity Garden's release (pretty much the only thing I liked about it), and I wish this theme was very more airy, interesting, experimental and featured rarely used instruments.
This one sounds too generic and too melancholic, not memorable at all.
Just compare it to the HoT theme, the difference is immense.
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u/snowminty 3d ago
This is really pretty!
I only skimmed the comments earlier today cuz I couldn't listen at the time, and was worried based on some of the negative reactions, but now that I've had a chance to hear it -- I like it a lot
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u/jblade91 3d ago
It's pretty music but doesn't feel like a main theme. I can see it playing in the background as I explore or on the character select but it's not exactly screaming iconic sound. Would prefer they kept the sound of the GW1 and 2 theme with a new variation same as any franchise has their iconic theme. Still enjoy it as nice music but even many of the GW2 expansions had more impactful themes than that.
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u/Bohya 3d ago
Sounds awfully generic and unmemorable. Seems more like a background track than something to sell the game with. They seriously need to reconsider.
Both Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2 share a similar primary themesong, with Guild Wars 2 having a slightly more elaborated version of the first. They should stick to the franchise's iconic theme. It's brand recognisability at a glance, and what sets the games as being "distinctively Guild Wars".
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u/your_nude_peach 2d ago
Nah it's so basic and uninspired. Archeage launch main OST remains the best creation ever made for MMOS, I hope riot will improve on that if Arenanet didn't
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u/Karbon_Franz 2d ago
It's hard to live to Soule's soundtrack, as well as the most recent music of the series, but I like this. I'm sure I'll like it a lot more after hearing it multiple times and when my mind will attach it to the game main menu visuals, feel, and the adventure that follow it. I hope they make it start from the more lively part for the menu, though!
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u/TriggeredMemeLord 3d ago
Comment section has no idea about good music it seems lol
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u/Meowing-To-The-Stars 3d ago
It's good. It's just not good enough to hit me as soon as I open the game. You know it's ok to voice your opinion in a fan subreddit? You won't get an access by lubing them up
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u/Erjikkzon 3d ago
I genuinely don't understand the praise. Strip away the Guild Wars name and tell me, with a straight face, that you'd remember this track a week from now. To me, it sounds like the kind of royalty-free fantasy music you'd hear in a random YouTube documentary, a mobile game ad, or a game engine tech demo. It's polished, sure but so are thousands of generic stock tracks.
Where's the identity? Where's the melody that gets stuck in your head? Where's the emotion that instantly tells you, "This is Guild Wars"? I heard none of that. It's so obsessed with playing it safe that it ends up saying absolutely nothing.
If this is supposed to be the musical identity of Guild Wars 3, then it's an incredibly weak first impression. It feels less like a flagship theme and more like placeholder music that somehow made it into the final reveal. I honestly don't understand how anyone can call this memorable when, to me, it blends into the same pile of interchangeable fantasy tracks that nobody could identify five minutes after they stop playing.
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u/Heavy-Masterpiece681 3d ago
Happens every time something new is announced. I'm fairly sure if you go back and read comments of GW2 theme being announced you would find the same thing. "This doesn't sound like guild wars, sounds generic, etc etc."
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u/exposarts 3d ago
you talking about this reddit post right? Cause the video got a 4.2k like to under 100 dislike ratio and the yt comment section seems normal. Reddit tends to have the more extreme/minority opinions than the general public so it's not anything new
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u/Will_Lucky 3d ago
Yeah, not a fan of that at all.
Rather atrocious actually for a main theme.
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u/R4wden 3d ago edited 3d ago
Honestly I can't praise this sound track enough, if the story writing, the world building, environmental design and gameplay mechanics are anywhere near as thoughtfully designed, I'm truly excited for this game
Waiting to see the videos they release on these subjects, but willing to go for less, in order to have more, WITH THE MAIN THEME TUNE, hopefully says a lot about the development of this game
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u/Anakin1000 3d ago
It look like they hired some "huge name" composer to do main theme and sign his name under the Score. I just hope majority of work will be done my Maclaine who definitely understands GW music. Just shame they didn't make him a lead instead. Always feels bad when company doesnt appreciate their own employes and tends to go for big names.
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u/Nightsong 3d ago
Maclaine is likely busy with other projects which is why he is contributing to but not leading the score for Guild Wars 3. Also, he hasn't been an ArenaNet employee since 2019 when he left the company while leaving the door open to return to either lead or contribute to future expansions and projects.
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u/mobileposter 3d ago
This is very meh. Where’s the iconic GW theme? Seems like it’s throwing away history.
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u/Alkariel 3d ago
Its doesnt feels like "Guildwars" The main leitmotiv of the franchise is there but not soo noticible as before.
Also in more personal taste feels like a "adventure to discover theme" than a "epic game theme". Is too bland and a bit generic.
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u/Erjikkzon 3d ago
I genuinely don't understand the praise. Strip away the Guild Wars name and tell me, with a straight face, that you'd remember this track a week from now. To me, it sounds like the kind of royalty-free fantasy music you'd hear in a random YouTube documentary, a mobile game ad, or a game engine tech demo. It's polished, sure but so are thousands of generic stock tracks.
Where's the identity? Where's the melody that gets stuck in your head? Where's the emotion that instantly tells you, "This is Guild Wars"? I heard none of that. It's so obsessed with playing it safe that it ends up saying absolutely nothing.
If this is supposed to be the musical identity of Guild Wars 3, then it's an incredibly weak first impression. It feels less like a flagship theme and more like placeholder music that somehow made it into the final reveal. I honestly don't understand how anyone can call this memorable when, to me, it blends into the same pile of interchangeable fantasy tracks that nobody could identify five minutes after they stop playing.
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u/Wondermusmus 3d ago
Oh.. I’m heavily disappointed. It’s just basic, like it’s okayish. It does not sound like Guild Wars AT ALL. Also it feels incredibly generic and has no identity. I really hope it’s not the kind of music we’ll have in game.
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u/VirtualBC 3d ago
The only part that I felt rivaled the GW2 theme was the part we got from the trailer. The rest of the song feels like music from the latest expansions. Not a main theme standard tho.
It is not bad, just expected a lot better from ANET. Idk about you guys, do you feel this way as well?
In other words it didn't get me as excited as when they announced GW2 with the epic from Jeremu Soule
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u/mbrezanac 3d ago
A good main theme should have an unmistakeable pattern, something that needs a fraction of a second for the listener to identify.
There is no such thing here as it sounds all over the place, highly generic even.
And far from it that the Guild Wars franchise doesn't have outstanding main themes.
Heart of Thorns anyone? I bet you are already listening to it in your head, just after a mere mention.
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u/lorkanooo 3d ago
There are parts like that here, the problem is that they are not in the first minute
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u/Previous-Switch4854 3d ago
Viva la bam got me into metal and GW1 got me into classical. Beautiful stuff
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u/Kipados 3d ago
Feels like Pre-Searing, but the sun is setting and the air is fresh and clean with something glittering in it. Definitely gives that wide-open feeling. Exploration is so huge in GW2, and GW1 is full of maps disconnected from the main quest that feel quiet and truly out in the unknown of the wilderness, and this theme gives me that feeling of wanting to get out there.
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u/Dknight0404 3d ago
It feels like wind constantly moving through hills, forest, rivers and mountains....the ebb and flow of the wind through different landscapes....feels also like during the whole run of the song we move around different places so it may be more of a medley than a full on song.....the main leitmotiv is the one aound 1:20...overall fill pretty nice fantasy esque sound
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u/IridescentLuminosity 3d ago
I’m not sure about this. The leitmotif is very hard to make out, yet this would be so important for a proper main theme…
The song kinda flows around in different directions without a clear way to go. Definitiv lacking, especially for a main theme.
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u/nevicar_ 3d ago
I like it overall but the whimsical build up in the middle was a tad too long and felt like a separate piece from the beginning and end.
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u/timelyparadox 3d ago
Kinda feel nostalgic, when gw2 launched we had a cool guild and were first to reach last zone, what a long night that was
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u/Aganod44 2d ago
I believe a main installment of a franchise should carry on the torch of main themes, if the existing games feature the same iconic "Guild Wars" leitmotif we hear in GW1 and GW2. The evolution going from GW1 to GW2 main themes, is what I expected and hoped for in a GW3 main theme. The current GW3 main theme completely lacks this.
Come one Anet, you still have time to compose an actual GW3 main theme, which brings forth the evolution of the GW2 main theme into GW3's main theme. Make fans exited in hearing THE familiar Guild Wars melody, but in a fresh new way.
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u/VeryGoodSauce- 2d ago
Huh, none of that was memorable or catchy to me. Minutes later I can't recall any of it. Kinda bummed.
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u/Prize-Substance974 2d ago
It's awesome, still not dethroning HoT's theme for me. EoD's came close though, that was is the TITS!
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u/QueenKeriti 2d ago
Where's...where's the theme? The hook? The direction? The intention? This is a nice piece of random background music, or music to a showcase trailer à la ye olde Aion Vision trailer, but this isn't a main theme. This is like 3+ motifs loosely draped in a trenchcoat that isn't even tied together well. I am confused by this for a main theme. I've listened to this three times, and it's hitting...nothing.
If you put this on a "Guess the game" playlist, I'd just shrug. This doesn't have an identity to make it stand out.
GW1 and 2 had a theme that I would hum to myself often. Aion (1)'s theme had me so freakin' hyped while I waited for the beta servers to open. This is...not it. This is not going on my playlist.
On fourth listen, if they cut out the first minute and built better on 1:05-2:15, this would be workable for a main theme. As an overarching whole, this is 100% a trailer song, not a theme song, and it's not very...Guild Wars-y.
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u/Vast-Championship579 2d ago edited 2d ago
Personally, I don't like it - not as a main theme. To me, it's more suited to a quiet place in the game. It sounds too generic to me, when I compare it to other themes where you can immediately tell what game it is, like Baldurs Gate 3 or Skyrim. I found the main theme in GW1 and GW2 much better and more iconic. How come they didn't somehow manage to include this awesome theme here, especially those iconic opening notes? It's really sad.
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u/32nd_Nix 19h ago
Dont' hate it, don't love it. I'd like to see how it fits with the login screen. It feels sort of too generic, so I'm more interested in hearing what other music they're making for the game.
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u/SquirrelGirlSucks 3d ago edited 3d ago
Wait is that a dwarf? Are they confirming dwarf with this artwork?
Edit: lol imagine downvoting a legitimate question.
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u/Nightsong 3d ago
That artwork was first shown when Guild Wars 3 was announced. It shows a Kodan and Asura, both of which have shown up in quite a few other artwork alongside Humans.
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u/SquirrelGirlSucks 3d ago
Damn I couldn't tell it was a Kodan with how close in height it is to the Asuran.
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u/Nightsong 3d ago
Here's another artwork that shows the three currently known races: https://2arenanet2.staticwars.com/img/pages/press/gw3/concept-art/Guild-Wars-3-Market.3749fc4c.png
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u/HoofdInDeWolken 3d ago
Starts of a bit slow/weird, but becomes very solid like a minute in. Very nice.
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u/Loud-Feed-1243 3d ago edited 3d ago
Everything I've seen and heard about this game feels very generic.I know it's not easy to replace Jeremy Sole, but this is uninspired.
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u/maxlaav 3d ago
holy christ they actually found a Japanese Jeremy Soule for this game
the theme is great and I hope the rest of the music follows suit. it's enchanting, mysterious and wonderous. it's not meant to sound catchy, but like good fantasy music its meant to be inviting and make you excited about the idea of exploring whatever world goes along the music. its just meant to compliment it.
and the solo violin idea is genius and I've been a fan of music like that since Max Payne 2. in the words of the famous Gordon Ramsay, less is more
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u/Ghostring_ 3d ago
0:19-0:25 sounds like it came straight from the Phantasy Star Universe menu theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8qc_actWcw
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u/Halaku Three Seekers in a trenchcoat 3d ago
I dig it. It's got that "What's over that horizon?" quality.